Kidney Toxicity Induced by 13 Weeks Exposure to the Fruiting Body of Paecilomyces sinclairii in Rats

Abstract

Paecilomyces sinclairiis (PS) is known as a functional food or human health supplement. However concerns have been raised about its kidney toxicity. This study was performed to investigate the kidney toxicity of PS by 13 week-oral administration to rats. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine, and kidney damage biomarkers including beta-2-microglobulin (β2m), glutathione S-transferase alpha (GST-α), kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1), tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), calbindin, clusterin, cystatin C, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and osteopontin were measured during or after the treatment of PS. BUN, creatinine and kidney damage biomarkers in serum were not changed by PS. However, kidney cell karyomegaly and tubular hypertrophy were observed dose-dependently with higher severity in males. KIM-1, TIMP-1 and osteopontin in kidney and urine were increased dose dependently in male or at the highest dose in female rats. Increased urinary osteopontin by PS was not recovered at 2 weeks of post-exposure in both genders. Cystatin C in kidney was decreased at all treatment groups but inversely increased in urine. The changes in kidney damage biomarkers were more remarkable in male than female rats. These data indicate that the PS may provoke renal cell damage and glomerular filtration dysfunction in rats with histopathological lesions and change of kidney damage biomarkers in kidney or urine. Kidney and urinary KIM-1 and cystatin C were the most marked indicators, while kidney weight, BUN and creatinine and kidney damage biomarkers in serum were not influenced.

Toxicologic assessment of Paecilomyces tenuipes in rats: Renal toxicity and mutagenic potential

“…tenuipes, an entomogenous fungus on the larvae of lepidoptera, is widely used in traditional nutritious medicine in the Orient (Lee et al, 2006). In spite of lots of reports on the beneficial activities of Paecilomyces species, there have also been several studies on the toxicities of Paecilomyces species, especially P. sinclairii, including acute oral toxicity studies in dogs, subchronic oral toxicity study in rats and a series of genotoxicity studies (Ahn et al, 2003(Ahn et al, , 2004aJeong et al, 2012Jeong et al, , 2013. Among Paecilomyces species, the P. tenuipes-contained processed goods have also been developed in many countries, particularly South Korea (Nam et al, 2011).…”

“…However, there has been controversy over whether Paecilomyces species is beneficial or toxic to kidney function. Jeong et al (2012) revealed that P. sinclairii exposed orally induced kidney cell damage and filtration dysfunction. The complex of P. sinclairii fruiting body and silkworm larvae was also known to induce tubular cell abnormalities, including tubular edemas and tubular destruction, in kidney (Ahn et al, 2004b).…”

Urinary NGAL and KIM-1 Are the Early Detecting Biomarkers of Preterm Infants with Acute Kidney Injury

“…The KIM-1 has a value of early diagnosis. Mihye Jeong et al [35], studied drug-induced renal toxicity in rats and found that KIM-1 has important significance in early detection of AKI with high sensitivity. Song L et al [36], studied on 69 patients after renal transplantation and found that increasing the tubular cell damage and the extent of renal injury and KIM-1 levels were positively correlated.…”

Healthcare Functions of Cordyceps cicadae

“…Jeong et al [82] showed that rats were orally administered with fruiting bodies powder of the Paecilomyces sinclairii in concentration of 5% for 13 weeks had no significant effect on serum levels of BUN and creatinine [82]. In the acute toxicity test, Chen et al [83] demonstrated that mice were orally administrated with extracts of C. cicadae or Paecilomyces cicadae (60 g/kg) had no significant effect on mortality 72 h following treatment, with a LD 50 of 14.2 ± 2.1 g/kg and 12.5 ± 2.1 g/ kg, respectively [83].…”